Fundamental : The principal frequency in a complex harmonically related series

C6APY from Berry Islands, NA-054 – Bahamas

John M0IDA, Rob M0VFC and Steve M1ACB (that’s me) hope to be QRV as C6APY from Little Harbour Cay, Berry Islands, IOTA NA-054, locator FL15do.

We fly into the Bahamas on 2nd March, but it’ll take us a couple of days to get there, so we hope to be QRV around the 4th March – but this is very much weather dependent, as is the whole operation. We fly back to the UK at the end of the 12th March, which means we will need to de-rig on the 10th or 11th, again varying according to the weather.

Operation probably won’t be 24/7 – we’ll do as much as we can, but eating and sleeping is back on the boat, there’s only three of us, and we’ll probably want to go for the occasional swim as well.

We’ll be running up to three stations simultaneously, all Elecraft K3s at 100W. We’re generator powered and have to carry the full week’s fuel with us on the boat, hence no amps.

We’re expecting that most QSOs will be 15-40m; we’ll monitor the higher HF bands as well and may venture on to 10/12 if propagation favours them; similarly we may throw up an 80m dipole but don’t expect to do very much, if anything, there. There will definitely be CW (op M0VFC) and SSB (ops M0IDA and M1ACB); we may also do some data if time permits. We hope to beaconing WSPR when the stations are otherwise inactive.

We should be active on some satellite passes with hand-held antennas: the FM birds will only cover parts of the USA, and not EU, so we’ll attempt some FO-29 passes as well. We aren’t satellite experts though, so be patient with us.

QSL is via M0OXO’s OQRS system.

We will upload to Club Log and LotW regularly throughout the trip, assuming all the kit plays nicely.

Watch Twitter for any other updates: @rmc47 (M0VFC), @ItinerantHam (M0IDA) and @m1acb

M6T CQWW SSB 2015

I’m very happy to have been a small part of the M6T team for CQWW SSB 2015.

 

JW/M1ACB form Svalbard

I’ll be on Svalbard (EU-026) from 10-17 July 2015, operating as JW/M1ACB.

I’ll be travelling with G3ZAY, M0BLF, M0HSW, M0TJH and M0VFC, all operating as JW/home callsign from the QTH of JW5E in Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

Potentially operating on 40m-10m, we are likely to have the best conditions on 30m, 20m & 17m, but we’ll also be watching for openings on 10m and 6m.

All operators will have their own arrangements for QSL, so please check qrz.com.

My own QSL route will only be via ClubLog OQRS with logs also uploaded to LoTW.

A huge thank you to the group for letting me join them and also to Gavin M1BXF for thinking of me when he unfortunately had to change his plans.

GB2WTM at Woodbridge Tide Mill

I spent an enjoyable Sunday afternoon operating GB2WTM from Woodbridge Tide Mill, on the River Deben, with other members of the Felixstowe & District ARS during National Mills Weekend.

Logging with pencil and paper

The River Deben from the Mill

Doublet antenna along the spit between the river and the mill pond

GS3PYE/P on the Isle of Mull 2015

I’ll be travelling to the Scottish Isles with Camb-Hams again this year.

We will be returning to Grasspoint IO76EJ on the Isle of Mull (EU-008) and operating as GS3PYE/P from 15-21 May 2015.

Camb-Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since 2008 and we will be travelling to the Isle of Mull again in 2015. Eleven operators will be active with multiple stations on HF on 3.5-28MHz SSB, CW, RTTY and PSK with dipoles and verticals and up to 400W if necessary.

VHF activity will be on 50MHz, 70MHz and 144MHz, all bands QRO with sizeable antennas.

VHF activity will be mainly JT6m or ISCAT on 50MHz, FSK441 on 70MHz and FSK441 and JT65b (for EME) on 144MHz, but SSB and CW is also possible, especially in any sporadic E propagation openings. Other modes by agreement. If internet connectivity allows, the VHF operators will monitor ON4KST Chat for terrestrial activity and N0UK JT65 chat for EME. You can submit your VHF sked requests online here: http://tiny.cc/gs3pyesked

Satellite operations on 2m & 70cm will use an Icom IC-910 and X-Quad antennas mounted on a fully automatic AZ/EL tracking system. We will likely be heard on JAS-2 (FO-29), OSCAR 7 (AO-7), SAUDISAT 1C (SO-50) and FUNcube-1 (AO-73).

The team will be active in the 80m CW CC event on the 21st May and in the 144MHz contest on the 16th and 17th. We may do very short side trips to Iona (EU-008) and the Treshnish Isles (EU-108), and probably some SOTA activations too. We’ll announce these nearer the time on the website.

Please QSL only via OQRS on ClubLog for direct or bureau cards.
Do not send any cards direct or via the bureau.

Most importantly, we are a group of good friends doing what we enjoy, so please give us a call and enjoy the trip with us. We will be active on the major social networks before, during and after the trip. You can check on progress and interact with the operators via our blog at dx.camb-hams.com or through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Update : We had an excellent DXpedition to Mull, making a total of 10299 QSO’s on bands from 80m to 70cm. Photographs are available in my GS3PYE/P Mull 2015 gallery.

CQWW SSB Contest 2014 Win

I played a very small part in the M4A team win in the CQWW SSB Contest 2014, but it’s really satisfying to see my callsign amongst the list of team members on the winners certificate for the Multi-Operator Single-Transmitter England category.

GS3PYE/P on the Isle of Lewis 2014

I’ll be travelling to the Scottish Isles with Camb-Hams again this year.

We will be operating GS3PYE/P from the Isle of Lewis (IOTA EU-010) on 26 April – 3 May 2014.

Camb-Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since 2008 and will be travelling to the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Outer Hebrides in 2014. Thirteen operators will be active on all bands and many modes from 4m to 80m, 2m & 70cm for Satellites and 2m & 23cm for EME.

The HF bands will be covered by five simultaneous stations, while the 6m & 4m stations will have a great take-off towards the UK and Europe from the island’s northern tip in IO68 square. All stations will be able to run at the full UK power limit.

EME operations will use 150W to 55 elements on 23cm and 400W to 17 elements on 2m. Primarily on JT65 but also available for CW skeds – if your station is big enough.

Satellite operations on 2m & 70cm will use X-Quad antennas and a fully automatic Az/El tracking system. Activity is planned on AO-7 (mode B), VO-52, FO-29, SO-50 & AO-73.

Contest operations will take place in the RSGB 70MHz UKAC on 29 April.

A number of the group hope to make an extra trip to operate as GS6PYE/P from the Shiant Isles (IOTA EU-112). They are aiming for afternoon/early evening operations on 28 April, but may switch to 30 April if the weather is bad.

The group will be active on HF mobile and APRS as they travel, starting on 25 April.
All the up-to-date plans and progress will be on dx.camb-hams.com

Most importantly, we are a group of good friends doing what we enjoy, so please give us a call and enjoy the trip with us. We will be active on the major social networks before, during and after the trip. You can check on progress and interact with the operators via our blog at dx.camb-hams.com or through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube .

Please email skeds-2014@camb-hams.com to arrange skeds on the more challenging bands and modes. VHF and EME skeds will also be made via ON4KST, HB9Q (1296) and N0UK’s EME Chat (144). All links are available via dx.camb-hams.com

Update : We had an excellent DXpedition to Lewis and the Shiant Isles.
Photographs are available in my GS3PYE/P Lewis 2014 and GS3PYE/P Shiants 2014 galleries and a  video of us operating GS6PYE/P from the Shepherds Hut on the Shiant Isles is available on YouTube. You might also enjoying watching our boat ride back form the Shiants after the weather changed a bit.

G100RSGB with F&DARS

I’ll be operating RSGB Centenary station, G100RSGB with F&DARS on 26/27 July 2013, from a former US Defense [sic] Communications Station on the eastern edge of Ipswich. The site used to be responsible for providing communications for the effective global command and control of US and NATO forces in Europe and South East Asia, before it finally closed in 1992. More details of the history of the station are available from the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Group

F&DARS will be making this a special club weekend and will be encouraging as many of it members to operate the station as possible. Many of those members won’t have operated a special event station like this before, so please give them a call and help to make it a very enjoyable weekend.

We hope to be operating two or three HF stations, with occasional operation on VHF and UHF.
Locator JO02ob / WAB TM24 / IOTA EU-005 / RSGB Region 12

Watch the RSGB Alerts and Spots or follow G100RSGB on Twitter to keep up-to-date.

As if that wasn’t enough for one weekend, F&DARS will also be operating GB2SAH from the same site, as part of the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Group Military Heritage weekend taking place there on 27/28 July. We’ll switch to GB2SAH on Sunday, after G100RSGB passes to Loughton & Epping Forest ARS.

Update : Thank you to everyone who contacted us, either as G100RSGB or GB2SAH. We had a very successful but exhausting long weekend of radio. We are very happy to have made 1185 contacts as G100RSGB. Photographs are available in my FDARS G100RSGB gallery.

GS3PYE/P on the Isle of Mull 2013

I’ll be travelling to the Scottish Isles with Camb-Hams again this year.

We will be operating GS3PYE/P from the Isle of Mull (IOTA EU-008) on 10-16 May 2013.

Camb-Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since 2008 and we will be retuning to the Isle of Mull in 2013. Thirteen operators will be active on all bands and many modes from 2m to 160m. We will also be active on 472KHz for the first time.

The HF bands will be covered by five simultaneous stations, while the 6m, 4m and 2m stations will have a great take-off towards the UK and Europe from the island’s south-east coast in IO76 square. We will have an antenna elevation system for 2m EME activity and will also be on many of the VHF/UHF satellite passes. WSPR beacons will be operating on most of the inactive bands to help find the best propagation.

Contest operations will take place in 70MHz CW on 12 May and 432MHz UKAC on 14 May.

We will be active on the major social networks before, during and after the trip. You can check on progress or interact with the operators via their blog at dx.camb-hams.com or through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Previous trips have generated some great audio and video recordings of the GS3PYE/P signal from around the world. Check the previous blogs and the YouTube channel and see if you can post a better recording.

Please email skeds-2013@camb-hams.com to arrange skeds on the more challenging bands and modes. VHF and EME skeds will also be made via ON4KST and N0UK’s EME Chat. All links are available via dx.camb-hams.com

Update : We had an excellent DXpedition to Mull, making a total of 16226 QSO’s on bands from 600m to 625nm. Photographs are available in my GS3PYE/P Mull 2013 gallery.

Triple Club Contest Success 2012

2012 turned out to be an excellent contesting year for two of the radio clubs that I enter club contests with. I really enjoy the format of the various club contests because everyone in the team can contribute their various individual strengths while helping to build a great club/team spirit.

Camb-Hams finished in 1st place in the RSGB AFS Super League for Winter 2011-12. The league takes the combined results from six separate Affiliated Societies contests, so it’s a great team effort and a fantastic result. I took part in the three HF legs with the team.

RSGB AFS Super League - Winter 2011-12
                       50  1.8  144  3.5  3.5  432  Total
1 Camb-Hams           968  966  925  901  967  897  5624
2 Bristol CG         1000  983  800  951 1000  828  5562
3 Trowbridge & DARC   871  898 1000  568  856 1000  5193

De Montfort University ARS finished in 1st place in the RSGB 80m Club Championship 2012 (General Club). The series runs from February to July each year on the 80m band, with SSB, Data and CW legs each month, making a total of 18 legs. De Montfort University ARS won the championship for the first three years it was held, in 2004, 2005 and 2006, so it was great to return to the top of the table again. The Championship was split into two sections for the first time this year, with national clubs entering the General Club section and local clubs entering the Local Club section (with all their members operating within 35km of the club’s usual meeting place). Norfolk ARC won the Local Club section with a higher score than the De Montfort University ARS General Club score, so Norfolk ARC take the G5RV trophy. Many congratulations to Norfolk ARC – a fantastic effort involving a large number of their members.

I was really pleased to achieve my own personal goal of entering all 18 legs of the Championship this year to contribute to the De Montfort University ARS team score. Next year, I’ll focus on improving each of my individual scores.

RSGB 80M Club Championship 2012
General Club Scores
1 De Montfort University ARS  123,535
2 Bristol CG                  117,974
3 Three As CG                 108,191

Local Club Scores
1 Norfolk ARC                 148,366
2 Tall Trees CG                71,977
3 Horsham ARC                  68,498

De Montfort University ARS also finished in 1st place in the RSGB 80m Club Sprint 2012. The series runs from August to November each year on the 80m band, with SSB and CW legs each month, making a total of 8 legs. De Montfort University ARS have won the 80m Club Sprint series every year since it was formally run in 2008. I only managed a small contribution to the team score this year, but still enjoyed the legs I took part in.

RSGB 80m Club Sprint 2012
1 De Montfort University ARS   46,085
2 Three As CG                  37,622
3 Travelling Wave CG           25,392